


The Uninvited

by God0fMischief



Category: Little Women (1994), Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Genre: Beth Lives, Beth March - Freeform, F/M, I Know Y'all Love Kittens, Kitten, Laurie - Freeform, New Beginnings, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 08:25:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18752653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/God0fMischief/pseuds/God0fMischief
Summary: Laurie visits Beth at the March home on a quiet evening and wonders what lies ahead for their future.





	The Uninvited

**Author's Note:**

> If I can't have Jo/Laurie, I will damn well have Beth/Laurie because I said so.

It had been months since Theodore Laurence had come back from England and its grand universities, and his excuses for not returning were beginning to wear thin on his grandfather’s recently patient nerves. The boy had resorted to using Elizabeth March’s grave illness - and subsequent improvement - as a guise for staying put in Washington, where he felt he truly belonged: with the family he had so desperately wanted to become a part of. Though, to his benefit, his visits to check on little Beth had been as frequent as they were genuine, and he found solace in the attainable silence shared between them. It was during one of these visits that he found himself observing the poor girl for the first real time in his life.

She was sitting on the window seat, looking out at the garden just beyond the panes with a small kitten napping comfortably in her arms. Absentmindedly she stroked the wretched thing, as her eyes, glazed over, entered some other realm of existence he was not invited into. Laurie had always known her as a quiet, shy girl, whose cheeks turned red at the slightest embarrassment or compliment thrown her way. But he had never really looked deeper. That was not to say he didn’t expect Beth to have anything other than air between her ears, it had just never occurred to him before this day.

Both of them had made it into adulthood, each with their own share of miraculous ups and misfortunate downs to accompany the ride; Miss March had arrived at the age of four and twenty, with Laurie just shy of his six and twentieth year. Laurie sighed, remembering the wonder and happiness he felt in his youth, when the March family were a new enigma to him. In their way they still were, and he cherished every moment he was welcome into their home and hearts, but he feared he would never be one of them.

Back in England, it had occurred, if only for one split, evil second that Laurie should court Amy, taking her away from that wretched Frank Vaughn, buying his way into the March household and Amy’s passionately greedy heart, but he knew it was heartache and anger towards Jo that had beseeched him. And entitlement, if he was being perfectly honest.

His eyes wandered back to Beth, who was still off in her own dream world, seemingly unaware of anything else but the fantasies that assuredly flitted into her mysterious mind. Death had very nearly touched this dear little soul twice, each instance more forceful than the last, and still she had remained as grateful as ever for every bit of kindness and love bestowed upon her. Contrastingly, Laurie had been faced with a blow to his ego he never saw coming, and slowly he came undone at the seams, drowning himself in whiskey, prostitutes, bourbon, and young, moderately wealthy girls who hoped to have a shot at his heart and his annual income. While it was true that he had loved Josephine March - deeply so - he eventually knew it was not one that would last. Jo had been right - they would have quarreled and fought each other mercilessly. What little love they had for each other, coupled with their deep friendship would have crumbled over the constant tremors. It was the fact Jo had been right that he hated most.

Theodore had made a buffoon of himself, and if any of the March family (beyond Amy) had seen him in such a state, it would have sent him into a territory of shame he could not imagine. Shame of any sort was not something he could truly picture would set itself onto the shoulders of Beth; yes, the poor dear suffered from a flaw of character that sent her mentally wrapping into herself if someone blinked at her wrong, but was that really shame? And on the minutely rare occasion she had ever wronged someone, she drew courage from reservoirs unseen and apologized earnestly. Had he the courage to apologize to Jo, Amy, or the countless other women he had wronged during his childish fits of tantrum and rebellion?

In those faraway eyes of Beth’s, Laurie pondered whether she had thought her life would end, and if she had felt surprised when it hadn’t. What did she feel when the realization that time was on her side hit? Had it sunk in yet?

Laurie set aside the book he was clearly not reading lightly onto the end table beside his chair, not wanting to startle Beth out of her reverie just yet. His eyes darted to the fireplace, a low blaze burning just so that the furniture in the room was cast in a warm glow. The clock ticked away quietly in its little corner.

“Beth,” Laurie called her name softly.

She faced him, eyes blinking as her soul came back to Earth. “Yes?” she answered in a tone that equaled his.

“Time has proven to be on your side. What will you do with it?”

Beth, visibly confused, could only stare at Laurie in silence.

“I mean… Your future. You have a future. What are your plans, dear Beth?” he asked, leaning forward in his chair ever so slightly. “God has kept you with us. There must be a reason for you to stay here. What do you want to do?”

“Oh!” she half-whispered in surprise. “I…”

A sudden fit of amusement crept up into Laurie’s chest; it was so easy to fluster Beth, even when unintended! Clenching his jaw to keep a chuckle from emanating, he simply watched her as she looked away and tried to organize her thoughts. He knew it took her time to compose herself after sudden shock of any kind. After a few more moments of silence and the light stroking of her drowsy pet, it seemed she was ready to answer.

“Well I…” she took a moment to gulp, in order to calm herself. “I hadn’t really thought of it.”

“And why not?” 

“For many reasons,” came the darkly quiet reply.

Laurie sat back in his chair, watching her with piqued interest as she continued lavishing care upon the creature in her lap. He stroked his goatee mindlessly as he took her in before breaking the silence once more.

“Elizabeth March, I do believe you are a puzzle that no one has yet figured out.”

Without looking up, a small smile glanced across her lips and Laurie found it evoked a strange feeling within him.

Laurie’s mind suddenly wandered off into a time all its own, his eyes glazing over as they turned to stare into the fire burning ever so brightly in the hearth. Beth watched as he entered some other realm of existence she was not invited into, and began to wonder...

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic ('The Uninvited') has less to do with any ill feelings or conflict between Laurie and Beth, than it has to do with both characters being dreamers with minds that are inaccessible to one another. Also it was born out of about 7 seconds or less of a quest to find a title in the cobwebs of the bit of my mind that is not taken up with mush. Please forgive the lack of creativity on that front! As for the summary, I never have an excuse for those. I can be descriptive in my actual stories (when I want to) but I have always been utter T-rash at summaries. But I write them anyway because all of us on AO3 are summary sl*ts, one way or another. Now enough of my self-deprecation!
> 
> This could turn into a series or be a catalyst for one. I have a lot of ideas for this pairing/ship in my head. It's been a while since I've written anything (try 10 months or more) so please forgive me if some of this is not very clear, etc. I will say that if I somehow continue or rewrite this, I want Laurie to have to redeem himself as a man and member of the March family in order to earn Beth's trust, friendship, affection and love. He has qualities and personality traits which are questionable, and he doesn't really know Beth (perhaps he still sees her as a little girl?) - there's things he needs to work out for himself. And I feel you can see at least a little bit of that with what I have managed to write here. At least I would hope so!
> 
> It's really just a test and you are all my non-consensual betas. Feedback and suggestions (good or bad) are guaranteed to be thanked. Adios!


End file.
